Beijing, China, 19 Apr 2007
Mobile Internet devices (MIDs) are rapidly becoming all the rage and Intel plans to benefit.
"Full Internet-in-the-pocket is not possible today," said Intel senior VP and Ultra Mobility Group GM Anand Chandrasekher, addressing the Intel Developers Forum, in Beijing, China this week.
The technology exists, but the integration required does not, he explained. The Internet today is highly visual, he added, while it was mainly text as recently as 2000. This is obviously a complication, as is the fact that the Internet is a mesh consisting of hundreds of applications and billions of lines of code, which accounts for the poor Internet experience on most PDAs.
Chandrasekher said this is not good enough and introduced Intel's solution, developed under the code-name "McCaslin".
The Intel Ultra-Mobile platform 2007 is based on the Intel A100 and A110 "Stealey" processors, the 945GU "Little River" Express chipset and the ICH7U I/O Controller Hub that optimises power for ultra-mobile requirements. This enables full Internet-in-the-pocket, assures Chandrasekher.
The next-generation chip, called "Menlow", is already in the pipeline and is set for release next year. Menlow, already in prototype form, is built around the tiny "Silverthorne" 45nm Hi-k low-power processor, little brother to "Penryn".
Engineering challenges
Chandrasekher noted the chip is the same size as a Chinese penny - equivalent in dimension to a South African 10c coin. The platform also includes a next-generation chipset, code-named "Poulsbo", providing a single-chip solution. Silverthorne and Poulsbo were both designed from the ground up for MID and ultra-mobile platforms.
Original equipment manufacturers that lined up to exploit Intel's platforms include Asus, BenQ, Compal, Elektrobit, HTC, Inventec and Quanta, he said. The companies have also formed an alliance to work together to solve engineering challenges associated with delivering full Internet to ever-smaller MID devices.
Chandrasekher added that Intel is also working with companies such as Adobe, Hanwang, Lingtu, MobiTV, Samsung Displays, Tencent and Tom.com to develop enhanced displays, applications and services for a "simplified, rich consumer experience".
Turning to operating systems, he said Intel intends to pursue Linux as an alternative. He announced Red Flag and Canonical, provider of the popular Ubuntu Linux OS, as the first Linux vendors.
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